Ora Banda

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Ora BandaNear ghost town in the goldfields north of Kalgoorlie
Located 663 km east of Perth via Kalgoorlie and 66 km northeast of
Kalgoorlie, Ora Banda is a goldfields town which seems to be
hovering between ghost town and revitalised mining centre.

Although Ora Banda (the name is Spanish meaning 'band of gold)
is now a virtual ghost town, it can claim a longevity which most of
the other so called 'ghost towns' on the goldfields have never
enjoyed.

Gold was discovered in the Ora Banda district in 1893 and
shortly afterwards the Weston brothers established the Ora Banda
mine. The mine continued to operate until the late 1970s although
it was forced to stop operations during World War I because of the
lack of water.

Things to see:

The Old Ruins
In recent times there has been exploration and small scale mining
in the area as the price of gold has fluctuated. However this has
not been enough to revitalise what is now little more than some old
ruins and a few isolated homesteads. Although, in fairness to the
future of the town, the hotel has been restored to the condition it
was in when it was built in 1911 and the state gold battery is
operating.